Part 4: On perseverance, industry, resilience, self-confidence, self-reliance, resourcefulness, daring, fortitude, and invulnerability

W

Wàhálà ló bí ìrọra; òṣì ló bí wàhálà.
Struggle gives birth to ease; destitution gives birth to struggle.
(He who exerts himself will find ease in the end; he who avoids exertions is doomed to struggle in the end.)

Wèrè èèyàn ní ńru ẹrù wòran; ẹní ru ẹrù wòran ni wèrè èèyàn ńwò.
Only an imbecile carries a heavy load and stops to watch a spectacle; such a heavily-laden spectacle watcher is the sort of spectacle that attracts the attention of imbeciles.
(Only a fool neglects pressing duties to dawdle.)

Wèrèpè ò níbìkan àgbámú; gbogbo ara ní ńfi-í jóni.
The cow-itch offers no place to be handled; it stings with its whole body.
(Said of problems that present no visible avenues for solution, or people who show no visible signs of vulnerability.)

Wíwẹ̀ là ńwẹ̀ ká tó jàre ọyẹ́.
Only by taking a cold shower can one shake off the chill of the harmattan.
(The solution to a problem might require some initial unpleasantness.)

Wọ́n ní, “Àparò aṣọ ẹẹ́ ṣe pọ́n báyìí?” Ó ní ìgbà wo laṣọ òun ò níí pọ́n? Kóun tó kọ igba láàárọ̀, kóun tó họ ilẹ̀ kùrẹ̀-kùrẹ̀ lábùsùndájí. Ìgbà wo lòun ó ràáàyè fọṣọ?
People asked the partridge, “Why is your clothing so dirty?” He responded, “Why would my clothing not be dirty? Given the time it takes me to make a hundred heaps in the morning, and the time I need to scratch the ground at dawn, what time is left for me to wash my clothes?”
(The shiftless can always find excuses to explain their predicament.)
Compare Wọ́n ní “Àwòko, o bú ọba.”